Jaroslav Tvrdik told reporters he was stepping down because proposed budget cuts put foward by Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla meant that the armed forces' capacity in areas including artillery, anti-aircraft defence and missions abroad would be damaged.

Spidla, who heads a centre-left coalition, said he planned to negotiate a possible deal with Tvrdik allowing him to stay on.

Under the proposed budget cuts the share of Gross Domestic Productdevoted to defence spending was to fall from 2.2 per cent as originally planned to 2.05 per cent, with a saving of 1.2 billion euros over five years.

The reform was aimed at phasing in a younger, more streamlined and more mobile professional force by 2006.

But Tvrdik, who took over the defence ministry in May 2001, said this was not practicable and complained that "the goalposts have been moved."

"It is unacceptable to ask the armed forces to forget what has been said, " he continued. "In the future they need a stable budgetary framework which will make it possible to concentrate on a longterm vision."

Prague had promised NATO spending of 2.2 percent on defence at a summit last November and the figure had been repeated several times by then-president Vaclav Havel.

NATO secretary-general George Robertson was warned of the defence spending cut on a visit to Prague earlier in the week, foreign minister Cyril Svoboda said.

The cuts would meant that force numbers would fall to 38,000 rather than 45,000 as originally planned, and the number of bases from 69 to 57. Some arms modernisation programmes would be abandoned.

Spidla said he had "taken note" of Tvrdik's resignation but played down its impact.

Tvrdik is a member of the premier's social democratic party (CSSD). A former career soldier, he was a member of the government of social democrat former prime minister Milos Zeman, and was confirmed in his function in July 2002 in Spidla's center-left government.

Spidla said no decision had been taken and that negotiations with the finance ministry would take place to clarify the financial context.

Tvrdik would work out an alternative scenario of armed forces reform, he said.

"The question will then be clear: can you bring about (this scenario) and if there is mothing to be done, someone else will take your place."

President Vaclav Klaus, whose constitutional duty it is to make the decision to accept or refuse Tvrdik's resignation, refused all comment.

WAR.WIRE